Ship&#39;s windlass.



` yMLENTED JAN. 31, 1905.

j G. w. BLAKE. snlpps wmnLAss.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR 15 1904 j# be, 25

' 45 relieve strain on UNITED STATESY PATENT OFFICE.

. Patented January 31, 190,5.

CHARLESY WESLEY- BLAKE, or NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

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SPECIFICATION forming partos Letters Patent No. 781,487, dated January 31, 1905.

' Application me@ March 15, 1904.'. salaire. 198,240. A i

I .T a/ZZ whom, t may concer/L:l

Be it known that I, CHARLES WESLEY BLAKE,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident -of Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and -State of Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ships VVindlasses, of which the following is a full, clean'and eXact description. I

This Invention relatesto hoisting devices;

1o and it consists, substantially, in the construc- I 5 cially to windlasses, hoisting-drums, winch'es',"

capstans,towing-machines,steering-gears, and -other similar devices employed on a ship o r other marine vessel; and the principal object Athereof is to provide means for overcoming lzo or neutralizing the effects of pulls or strains upon the anchor chains or cables, hawser chains I f or cables, or other chains or cables of the vessel caused by undue surging of the-vessel produced by motion of the sea, more especially when the vessel is at anchor, or when the anchor is being weighed, or when the vessel is being towed in a -heavy sea orswell.

The invention also has additional objects vin lfview, as will hereinafter more fully appear,

3o, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a hoist- 3 5 ing device,.as a ships windlas's, havingmy improvements embodied in connection therewith.'

-Fig 2 is a vertical transverse sectional elevation thereof to more clearly indicate the con- 1 struction and operation of parts. Fig. 3 is a 4odetail sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of ,'Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a top planyiew reprersenting lmore clearly the organization of the vdriving-worm for the windlass andthe reactingcushioning devices therefor serving to working parts of the structure.

by the designating characters marked thereon, 1 represents a portion of the deck of a ship or other vessel, to which is secured in any suit- Ybe supported in a frame (seeFig. 4) compris- Specic reference being had to the drawings able mannera base .or bed vplate l2, standing upwardly from the ends of which are bearings, such as .3, for the support of the main shaft4 of an ordinary ships windlass, said shaft having thereon the power-wheel 5, on either side of which is loosely mounted on the shaft a -wildcator drum 6 for an anchor or other chain or hawser'?, engaged by lugs 8 onsaid Wildcat, the latter, as is common vin windlasses of this kind, being provided with some suitable device (not shown) by which it may be locked to the shaft whenever-desired to cause heaving in of the chain or hawser; but when the Wildcat is unlocked from said shaft the chain or hawser may .be let out at will under the action of the usual brake,` comprising in the present instance a pulley 9 and a friction-hand 10, said brake being controlled by an ordinary opering-lever, (not shown,) as is well` understood. To the deck of the vessel are rigidly secured suitable blocks 12, disposed a proper distance apart beyond the power-wheel 5, said blocks beingprovided with bearing-boxes 13 for the support of the relatively long rotatable driving-shaft 14, disposed substantially 75 at right angles to the shaft 4 beneath and in practically vertical alinement with'said wheel 5,said shaft 14 being driven from any suitable engine or source of power. (Not shown.) Said blocks and bearing-boxes are preferably located 'to the front and rear of the powerwheel -5 and in line therewith; but if the character of work to be performed by the structure requires itv the driving-shaft 14 may 8s ing the transverse bars '.15 15 and the side beams 16 16, connecting said bars, said shaft passing through suitable bores or openings therefor in said transverse bars.

Mounted upon thedriving-shaft 14 is a tubular Worm gear orshaft 17, Which is keyed` to the shaft 14 .through the medium ofa key or spline 18, the construction being such that longitudinal movement of said worm-gear on the said driving-shaft is permitted. It will beohserved, Figs. 1 and 2, that the said tubularivorIn-gear meshes with the cogs 11 of the power-wheel 5, so that when the shaft 14 Y is driven the revolution of the worm-gear therewith will impart motion to the power- 10Q wheel and drive the shaft 4, thereby causing a turning of the Wildcat or drum 6 for the purpose of winding up the chain or hawser 7.

' Now, as is well known, the surging or dipping' of the vessel often causes a jerking or pulling strain to be placed upon the chain or hawser, especially when the vessel is at anchor or when a heavy swell is on, and this frequently causes breaking or parting of the chain or damage to the various parts of the windlass or machine, especially when the driving-gear is entirely rigid. This is obviated by having the tubular worm gear or shaft slidable upon the driving-shaft 14, and in order to tension the movement of such worm along the driving-shaft 14 I employ a coil-spring, such as is shown at 20, about the same, between one of the frame pieces or blocks 12 and the adjacent end of the worm gear or shaft, it being understood that the latter is shorter than the length of the driving-shaft 14 between t-he said blocks 12 12. In order to protect the ends of the spring from being injured and to render the working of the machine easy, I place a washer 2O between the end of such spring and the adjacent end of the tubular worm-shaft; but if extremely heavy work is to be performed with the machine or windlass it will necessitate, perhaps, a plurality of tension-springs, in which case I arrange a bar 22 transversely of the frame, as seen in Fig. 4, in such manner that the bar may slide. upon l the side pieces 16 16 of said frame, the shaft 14 passing through an aperture or hole bored centrally in such bar, the construction being such that the bar will lie between the tubular worm-shaft and the adjacent end of the central spring 20, additional tension-springs 201 20C being coiled about the side bars 16 16 between the sliding bar 22 and one of the transverse bars 15.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of my improved machine will be readily apparent. When any unusual or unexpected strain is placed upon the chain or hawser, such as will cause the same to move with the wildcat, and consequently revolve the power-wheel backward, such power-wheel will force the loosely-keyed worm gear or shaft backward against the tension of the spring or springs, and when the strain is relieved such spring or springs expand to their normal position and push the said worm gear or shaft again to its normal position. Heretofore when the power-wheels started to revolve under such strain the parts of the machine being rigid the surge of the vessel generally caused the breaking of the chain or the stripping of the threads of the worm gear or shaft or the breaking of the teeth of the power-wheel; but it will be noted all this is obviated by the mechanism herein described. If for any reason it should not be desired to employ the tension spring or springs, the tubular worm gear or shaft may be keyed up rigidly with the driving-shaft 14 through the medium of a pin 23, as shown in Fig. 3, which pin passes through apertures in the tubular worm gear or shaft and through a bore which extends diametrically through the shaft 14.

YVhile I have herein shown and described one. preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not consider myself as limited to all the precise details of construction shown herein, as there may be modifications and variations in several respects without departing from the essential features of the invention or sacrificing an)` of the advantages thereof. For instance, instead of employing tension-springs, as herein described, I may make use of any suitable yielding device which will perform the function of returning the sliding tubular worm gear or shaft to its normal position after such shaft has been dislodged therefrom through the revolution of the power-wheel. There are many advantages incident to my improved mechanism other than those herein enumerated; but they will be obvious to those acquainted with mechanisms of this sort, so that it is unnecessary to further eludicate the same.

Having thusdescribed my invention, Iclaim as new and desi re to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with a gear-wheel, of driving mechanism therefor, comprising a drivingshaft arranged adjacent to said gear-wheel, a tubular worm-shaft slidable on said drivingshaft and rotatable therewith, a fixed stop against which one end of said worm-shaft abuts, a sliding member on the drive-shaft arranged to abut the other end of the tubular worm-shaft, and said sliding member being' spring-pressed to hold it normally against said worin-shaft.

2. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with a rotatable shaft, a windingdrum fixed on said shaft and a gear-wheel also fixed on said shaft, of a driving-shaft arranged adjacent to said gear-wheel, a tubular wormshaft slidable on said driving-shaft and rotatable therewith, a fixed stop against which one end of said worm-shaft abuts, and a spring received upon the other end of said wormshaft to hold it normally against said stop.

3. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with a rotatable shaft, a hoistingdrum carried by said shaft, and a gear-wheel also carried by the shaft, of a driving-shaft arranged adjacent to the gear-wheel, a tubular worm-shaft slidable on the driving-shaft and rotatable therewith, a stop at one end of said worm-shaft, a transverse bar slidable on said driving-shaft and engaging one end of said worm-shaft, and a plurality of springs engaging said bar to hold it against the end of said worm-shaft.

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4. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with a -rotatable shaft, a hoistingdrum carried byfsaid shaft, and a gear-Wheel also carried by the shaft, of a driving-shaft disposed adjacent to said gear-wheel, a tubular Worm-shaft slidable on the driving-shaft and rotatable therewith, a stop against Which one end 0f said Worm-shaft abuts, a pair of guide-rods disposed parallel With and on opposite sides of said driving-shaft, a transverse bar or block slidable on said guide-rod and contacting With the end of the Worm-shaft opposite the stop, and a plurality of springs carried by said dri ving-shaft and said guide-rods, said springs engaging said` transverse bar or block to press it forcibly against the end of the Worm-shaft.

5." In a mechanism of the class described, the combination of a frame, a shaft journaled therein, a hoisting apparatus carried by said shaft, a cog-wheel. mounted on the shaft, a driving-shaft revolubly mounted in bearings adjacent tothe cog-Wheel, a tubular Wormshaft keyed to the driving-shaft in such man'- CHARLES' WESLEY BLAKE.

Witnesses: l

' CLARENCE V. CURTIS,

RICHARD CURTIS. 

